Garments



S. F. STEIN April 28,- 1959 GARMENTS Filed Sept. '7, 1954 FIG. e

INVENTOR I8 I6 22 A United States Patent C) GARMENTS Samuel F. Stein, Milton, Pa.

Application September 7, 1954, Serial No. 454,438

Z Claims. (Cl. 2-269) The present invention relates to garments and more particularly it has to do with adjusting means for inseam measurement of trousers.

The object of this invention is to provide means for expeditiously shortening the inseam length of trousers to approximately 4 inches shorter than what is the inseam measurement of the uncutfed trousers.

Another object thereof is to provide means for expeditiously lengthening the inseam length to the extent of approximately as much as 2 inches from what the inseam measurement is when the trousers comprise a foldover cuff.

The means provided is such that while the job is being performed, the lengthening or shortening may be adjusted to any desired fractional inch measurement, and in either case, the feature of the cui of a standard width is substantially sustained.

The inseam adjustments referred to involve no ripping and no resewing of lines of stitching, as is the case with the ordinary procedure of adjusting the inseam measurement of trousers.

Additional lines of stitching as were proposed by prior patents for lengthening the inseam of trousers are eliminated. Hence, no such lines of stitiching have to be ripped in connection with my invention.

Another object of the present invention is that the adjusting means remains durable and may readily be utilized repeatedly for the purpose when found necessary, While in the case of lines of stitching proposed by former patents for the purpose of lengthening the inseam of trousers such lines of stitching are nonexistent after once having served their purpose.

Other advantages will be apparent from the contents of the specification.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 illustrates a fragmentary side view of the lower portion of trousers comprising a fold-over cuff constructed according to my invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a fragmentary side View of the lower portion of trousers of which the inseam of the trousers has been shortened in comparison with Figure l;

Figure 3 illustrates a fragmentary side view of the lower portion of trousers of which the inseam has been lengthened in comparison with Figure 1;

Figure 4 illustrates a fragmentary side view of the lower portion of trousers of which the inseam Was shortened to a lesser extent than what is shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view on line 5--5 of Figure l;

Figure 6 illustrates a sectional view on line 6--6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 illustrates a sectional view on line 7-7 of Figure 3;

Figure 8 illustrates a diagrammatical view of an arrangement embodied in the cuff structure shown in Figure 4;

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Figure 9 illustrates a sectional view on line 9-9 of Figure 4;

Figures l0 and 11 illustrate a modified structure in comparison with Figures 5 and 6, respectively.

In the accompanying drawing, in detail:

Referring to Figs. 1 and 5; numeral 10 designates a section of a trouser leg; numeral 11 designates the lower portion thereof comprising a fold-over cuff 12; said lower portion being of uniform width; said cuff having an outer ply 13 and an inner ply 14 joined at the top thereof by a folded edge 15; said inner ply being joined at its bottom by a folded edge 16 with the adjacent ply of the lower leg portion 11; said folded edge 16 is securely held in its folded position by a line of stitching 17 disposed adjacent thereto; the outer ply 13 of the fold-over cut 12 is joined by a folded edge 18 with a ply 19; said ply is substantially wider than the width of the outer ply 13 of the fold-over cui 12 and extends upwardly within the leg of the trousers 10 where it is secured by stitches 20 at a point substantially above the level of the folded edge 15 of the fold-over cuff 12, and the stitched folded edge 16 is extended downwardly substantially to the inner surface of the fold 18 of the fold-over cuff 12.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 6; numeral 10 designates a section of a trouser leg; 11 designates the lower portion thereof comprising a fold-over cuff 12A; said cuif having an outer ply 13A and an inner ply 13B (dotted). Intermediary the plies 13A and 13B are plies 11 and 14 in contiguous relation and joined by a folded edge 16 (numeral 14 dotted). The outer ply 13A and the inner ply 13B are joined by a folded edge 15A; the inner ply 13B is joined by a lower folded edge 15B with ply 14; said folded edge 16 is securely held in its folded position by a line of stitching 17 disposed adjacent thereto; the outer ply 13A of the fold-over culi 12A is joined with the end portion of ply 19 by a folded edge 18A; said end portion of ply 19 extends within the trouser leg where the end edge 20 of said end portion of ply 19 is secured by stitches 21 to the trouser leg 10; stitches 21 may be produced by a blind stitch machine or other sewing medium. However, if desired, a thermoplastic tape responsive to the action of heat and pressure may be applied for securing the hem 19 to the leg material 10; numeral 22 designates the inner surface of the folded edge 15A.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 7; numeral 10 designates a section of a trouser leg; 11 designates a ply of the lower portion thereof; 12B represents a false cuff comprising a different structure than that of a fold-over cuif shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 6; said false cuff 12B comprises an outer ply 13C and an inner ply 19A; said inner ply 19A is joined at its bottom by a folded edge 18B with the adjacent lower portion of the outer ply 13C; the lower end portion 11 of the trouser leg 10 is joined with the upper portion of the outer ply 13C adjacent the folded edge 15E by a line of stitching 17, thus producing a comparatively narrow folded edge 16; numeral 19 designates a ply extending upwardly within the leg portion 10; the end edge of the end portion of ply 19 is spaced from the line of stitching 17 to an extent that is substantially greater in dimension than the width of the outer ply 13C; numeral 20 is the end edge of the end portion of ply 19 secured by stitches 21 to the inner surface of the trouser leg 10; numeral 22A designates the inner surface of the folded edge 18B.

In Fig. 3, the portion including numerals 10, 19, 20 and 21, is shown broken away from the lower portion to indicate that hem ply 19 extends upwardly within the leg of the trouser 10 to a higher level from the folded edge 15E than what would have shown in the drawing had a portion of the material not have been shown removed.

Fig. 8 represents a diagrammatical view of a cuff aeeae'ra structure in which the inseam of the trouser leg had been lengthened in comparison to what is shown in Figs. 1 and 5. It is assumed for the sake of example, the added length is equal to 1% inch, as will be explained further in the specification.

The numerals in Fig. 8 designate the same features of the cuff structure as are designated by the same numerals in Figs. 1 and 5, except as follows: 14A designates a partial inner ply of a partially folded over cuff 12C; 13D designates the outer ply of cuff 12C; 15C designates the upper folded edge of said cuff 12C; numeral 19B designates a supplementary partial inner ply of cuff 12C, and 22B designates the inner surface of the folded edge 18C.

The cuff shown diagrammatically in Fig. S has been incorporated in the cuff structure shown in Fig. 4 and the sectional view thereof in Fig. 9. The description of Figs. 4 and 9 is as follows: Numeral 10 designates a section of a trouser leg; 11 designates the lower portion thereof comprising a foldover cuff 12D; said cuff comprises an outer ply 134B and an inner ply 13F, as clearly seen in Fig. 9; the inner ply 13F is joined by a folded edge 15C with an upturned ply 14A which is joined by a fold 16 with the adjacent ply 11; said fold 16 is secured by stitches 17; the outer ply 13E is joined at the bottom with the hem ply 19 by a folded edge 18D; the end portion of ply 19 is a hem; 20 designates the end edge thereof, joined by stitches 21 to the material of trouser leg 22B is the inner surface of the folded edge 15D.

The standard width of dress trousers cufrs is 1% inches, while 2 inch cuffs are also applied to some trousers, and for purpose of illustration a 2 inch cuff is related to in the present specification.

The bottom of trousers are standardized by the provision of a fold-over cuff, and a fold-over cuff is considered herein as a base for describing the shortening means for the inseam of the trousers.

The standard fold-over cuff comprises an outer ply; an inner ply extending downwardly substantially the depth of the cuff; the inner ply being in contiguous relation with the adjacent ply of the leg material and a hem ply covering a portion of the latter ply is provided. In the ordinary fold-over cuff the hem ply does not extend above the level of the upper edge of the fold-over cuff, and therefore, the shortening means with the details associated therewith, as described in the present specification, are not feasible with the ordinarily constructed foldover cuff of trousers, as the ordinary hem ply terminates substantially below the upper edge of the fold-over cuff.

The conventional procedure with respect to shortening the inseam length of trousers represents an extensive job as well as an expensive one. A great deal of inconvenience is involved when it is necessary to do the job in a clothing store in a limited time; tailoring skill is required; it requires ripping the line of stitching that attaches the end edge of the hem ply of the cuff circumferentially to the trouser leg and thus entirely undo the cui; it requires intellection for calculating as to the material that would have to be removed in order to arrive to the shorter inseam length; to the specific width of a standard fold-over cuff and the material required for the hem ply; there is likelihood of physical injury when a blade is used for ripping and there is likelihood for damaging the trouser material by ripping; it requires to reattach the end edge of the hem ply circumferentially to the trouser leg by a line of stitching as was there orig inally; and a tedious job is involved in folding over the cuff and bringing it to the same standard dimension all around the cuff, and to have the two cuffs of the trousers measure alike. The foregoing operations are costly and they cannot conveniently be performed when a person skilled in the art of tailoring is not available when the job is urgently needed.

Furthermore, after the inseam had been once shortened to a measurement assumed to be right, it occurs quite frequently that the job has to be done over on account of being too long. It is often the case that the inseam measurement would be right when the person wears suspenders to support the trousers, but when the person abandons his Suspenders the inseam of the trousers is too long and the excessive length displays a very unsightly appearance, and also causes the lower folded edge of the cuff to fray out in a very short time. It is evident that there is a great problem involved in the shortening of the inseam of trousers which prior art had overlooked and it has not been satisfactorily solved.

It will be seen that the upper portion of ply 19 is in a fixed contiguous relationship with the lower portion 11. The fixed relationship afforded by stitching 17 greatly facilitates shifting the outer ply of the cuff to various positions upwardly or downwardly within a range of approximately the width of the cuff; only the outer ply of the cuff has to be manipulated in increasing or decreasing the vertical space between the folded edge 16 and the inner surface 22 of the folded edge 18, as the folded edge 16 is not disturbed by such manipulation.

The tedious job involved with the ordinary procedure in shortening the inseam length of trousers is folding over the cuff and adjusting same to the standard even circumferential dimension of the cuff and to have both cuffs of the trousers alike in dimension, is entirely eliminated by the present invention which provides for swinging the fold-over cuff upwardly on degrees, whether the case be that a 2 inch shortening is required, or less in fractional inch measurements, for the reason that the folded edge 15B (Fig. 6) and 15C (Fig. 9) serve as a forming guide to follow for properly forming the desired cuff as to have an even circumferential dimension and the two cuffs of the trousers will thus be alike.

The versatility of the present invention will meet with appreciation in the home where there are a number of growing boys who require various inseam measurements. Trousers of an elder boy are often handed down to his younger brother, but they may be too long. The described durable means for shortening the trousers, with the provided means for lengthening same, when desired, will be more than welcome to the mother on account of the simplicity of operation and the facilities of varying the inseam measurement from time to time to such an extent as described herein.

In Figs. 10 and 11 is illustrated a cuff structure wherein stitching 17 to hold fold 16 in position is eliminated. Otherwise, the features of construction are the same as in the former figures and will serve the same purposes as described with reference to Figs. 1-9. The structure shown in Fig. l0 in which stitching 17 is eliminated, will not be adaptable, however, to lengthening the inseam to such an extent as shown in Figs. 3 and 7. Neither will this construction on account of the absence of stitching 17, afford the facilities in shifting the outer ply of he cuff as explained before. However, all the other advantages remain for the benefit of the person unskilled in the art of tailoring for shortening as well as lengthening the inseam of trousers.

Let us assume for example that the cuff structure as illustrated in Figure 1 is two inches in width and the inseam measurement is 30 inches long. By bending the trouser leg 10 outwardly in conjunction with the ply 19 on a line designated by 23 (Fig. 5) and swinging the fold-over cuff 12 upwardly 180 degrees, a perfectly formed cud as shown in Fig. 2 would be produced and the inseam would thus be shortened to 28 inches from the original 30 inches.

As shown in Fig. 3, the inseam measurement would be lengthened to the extent of the width of the cuff and the inseam of the trousers would measure approximately 32. Thus, there is a range of approximately 4 inches extending between the minimum and maximum length to which the inseam measurement may be adjusted. However, there are frequent instances when the required inseam be in fractional inch measurements within the above mentioned range. My invention contemplates provisions for such instances, as they may take place, as will be explained.

Figures 4 and 9 in conjunction with Figure 8 illustrate an example of a variation of 3A inch measurement in comparison with Figure 1. Hence, the inseam measurement as represented by Figure 4 becomes 291A inches instead of 30 inches which Figure l represents and instead of 28 inches as represented by Figure 2. In the foregoing example, a perfectly formed cufr" of standard Width and even dimension has Ibeen easily and expeditiously produced.

The foregoing shortened inseam adjustment was accomplished by rstlengthening the inseam to 311A inches as shown in Figure 8, and by bending the trouser leg outwardly in conjunction with ply 19 on a line designated by 23 (Fig. 8) and swinging the cuff 12C Figure 8 upwardly 180 degrees. By so doing cuff 12D as shown in Figure 4 is formed and the inseam measurement is 29% inches.

There are, by the present invention, provisions for any number variations of fractional inch measurements for inseam of trousers within the above mentioned range.

By my disclosure all the variations of inseam measurements are accomplished without any provision of additional lines of stitching to be ripped; without ripping any existing lines of stitching to make the required length adjustment; the adjustments once made are adapted to be altered to any other adjustments without ripping any lines of stitching; all the adjustments may be done expeditiously and no tailoring skill is required.

The foregoingstatement is of great concern to the clothier who sells the trousers, and it also concerns the wearer of the trousers after they had been fixed, and as far as it relates to growing boys as explained heretofore.

The extensive range of inseam measurements adjustment made possible by the present disclosure is a salient feature of my invention, and while I have described a preferred embodiment thereof, it is understood that the same is susceptible of modication in various forms without departing from the scope of my invention. I therefore desire that what I claim be given broad interpretation and be limited only by the prior art pertaining thereto.

What I claim is:

l. Trousers having `an adjustable length tubular leg member, the said leg member at the bottom portion thereof being of uniform width, said leg member at the bottom portion thereof being provided with a conventional fold-up circumferentially extending cuff of standard width and having inner and outer plies of a substantially corresponding cuff-width, each of said plies extending to an upper fold line, the lower end of said inner ply being dened by a lower fold line at the lower end of said bottom portion, said outer ply extending downwardly from said upper fold line and being folded around said lower fold line by a lowermost fold line defining the length of said leg member, said outer ply extending upwardly within the inside of the bottom portion of said leg member a substantially greater distance from said dened leg -length than the said upper lfold line to which said plies extend and being secured at the free end thereof to the inside of the leg member so that the bottom portion of the leg member may be folded outwardly and upwardly along said upper fold line to provide a double cuff of standard width without exposing the said secured free end and whereby said defined leg length may be readily shortened by an adjustment equal to the width of the culi, the width of said inner ply being readily adjustable by various widths at will whereby said defined leg length may be readily adjusted to various extended lengths, the aforesaid adjustments in said oontrasting relationship being cooperatively employable to readily adjust said defined leg length also to various shortened lengths whereby the range of adjustments to which said dened leg length may be readily adjusted is substantially increased without repositioning the said secured free end and with the standard cuff-width maintained with any of said leg length adjustments.

2. Trousers having an adjustablelength tubular leg member, the said leg member at the bottom portion y thereof being of uniform width, said leg member at the bottom portion thereof being provided with a conventional fold-up circumferentially extending cuff of standard width and having inner and outer plies of a substantially corresponding width, each of said plies extending to an upper fold line, the lower end of said inner ply being defined by a lower fold line at the lower end of said bottom portion, said lower fold line being secured in its folded position by a line of stitching spaced from said lower fold line, said outer ply extending downwardly from said upper fold line and being folded around said lower fold line by a lowermost fold line defining the length of said leg member, said outer ply extending upwardly within the inside of the bottom portion of said leg 'member a substantially greater distance from said defined leg length than the said upper fold line to which said plies extend and being secured at the free end thereof to the inside of the leg member so that the bottom portion of the leg member may be folded outwardly and upwardly along said upper fold line to provide a double cuff of standard width without exposing the said secured free end and whereby said defined leg length may be readily shortened by an adjustment equal to the width of the cuff, the width of said Iinner ply being readily adjustable by various widths at will whereby said dened leg length may be readily adjusted to various extended lengths, the said line of stitching facilitating the adjusting of width of said inner ply by maintaining the lower fold line in its original folded position, the aforesaid adjustments in said contrasting relationship being cooperatively employable to readily adjust said defined leg length also to various shortened lengths whereby the range of adjustments to which said defined length may be readily adjusted is substantially increased without repositioning the said secured free end and with the standard cuff-width maintained with any of said leg length adjustments.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,921,467 Hymes Aug. s, 1933 2,054,998 winter sept. 22, 1936 2,214,120 Connor sept. 10, 1940 2,527,973 Thomas et a1. oct. 31, 1950 2,641,765 stein June 16, 1953 2,713,685 Nachem July 26, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 77,037 Denmark Jan. 1s, 1954 161,138 Australia Feb. 1s, 1954 

